Bumpy Friday Forecast

August 17th, 2018 Cameron Hopman Weather Blog

Good Evening,

Thursday’s high temperature in Evansville was a below–average 85°, unfortunately the cooler-than-average temperatures were accompanied by a good amount of gulf moisture, driving heat indices into the low 90s earlier on. That excess of warmth and moisture at the surface continues to linger across the Tri-Sate at this hour, setting the stage for our next round of potentially strong to Severe storms early Friday morning.

Driven southeastward by an advancing cold front, a broken line of shower and thunderstorm activity is expected to intensify over the coming hours and gel into a well-defined line of storms. Current model data now suggests that the line will reach our westernmost counties around 4:00 A.M. Friday.

After reaching Evansville between 5:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M., the line will continue on its way up the Ohio River Valley. It’s likely that the leading edge of that line will exit our easternmost counties by 7:00 A.M. The bowing structure is an indication that the primary threat from the storms will be damaging winds in excess of 60 mph.

With that being said, we’re not necessarily out of the woods quite yet. The Storm Prediction Center of America has maintained its Marginal Risk for Severe Weather for the majority of the region for our Friday ahead. The latest model runs are indicating that we’ll see some redevelopment of shower and thunderstorm activity along the stalled cold front tomorrow afternoon and evening.

The conditions will certainly be correct for the development of showers and storms tomorrow evening, so if you are indeed planning on heading out to any of those first high school football games tomorrow, please remain weather aware. Some of the thunderstorms tomorrow could generate large hail and strong winds.

Believe it or not, even more rainfall is expected to linger though much of the forecast ahead. It appears as though a definitive and heat-busting cold front will finally drag its way through the Tri-State early next week. As long as the current trend holds, we’re all in for a pleasant cool down by next Wednesday! Expect high temperatures that afternoon in the upper 70s!